Suboxone and Subutex Treatments

Approved for clinical use in October 2002 by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), buprenorphine represents the latest advance in medication-assisted treatment (MAT). Medications such as buprenorphine, in combination with counseling and behavioral therapies, provide a whole-patient approach to the treatment of opioid dependency. When taken as prescribed, buprenorphine is safe and effective.

Unlike methadone treatment, which must be performed in a highly structured clinic, buprenorphine is the first medication to treat opioid dependency that is permitted to be prescribed or dispensed in physician offices, significantly increasing treatment access. Under the Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000 (DATA 2000), qualified U.S. physicians can offer buprenorphine for opioid dependency in various settings, including in an office, community hospital, health department, or correctional facility. Learn more about SAMHSA’s buprenorphine waiver management.

SAMHSA-certified opioid treatment programs (OTPs) also are allowed to offer buprenorphine, but only are permitted to dispense treatment. Learn more about certification of OTPs.

As with all medications used in MAT, buprenorphine is prescribed as part of a comprehensive treatment plan that includes counseling and participation in social support programs.

Buprenorphine offers several benefits to those with opioid dependency and to others for whom treatment in a methadone clinic is not preferred or is less convenient. The FDA has approved the following buprenorphine products:

Bunavail (buprenorphine and naloxone) buccal film

Suboxone (buprenorphine and naloxone) film

Zubslov (buprenorphine and naloxone) sublingual tablets

Buprenorphine-containing transmucosal products for opioid dependency

Refer to the product websites for a complete listing of drug interactions, warnings, and precautions.

How Buprenorphine Works

Buprenorphine has unique pharmacological properties that help:

Lower the potential for misuse

Diminish the effects of physical dependency to opioids, such as withdrawal symptoms and cravings

Increase safety in cases of overdose

Buprenorphine is an opioid partial agonist. This means that, like opioids, it produces effects such as euphoria or respiratory depression. With buprenorphine, however, these effects are weaker than those of full drugs such as heroin and methadone.

Buprenorphine’s opioid effects increase with each dose until at moderate doses they level off, even with further dose increases. This “ceiling effect” lowers the risk of misuse, dependency, and side effects. Also, because of buprenorphine’s long-acting agent, many patients may not have to take it every day.

Side Effects of Buprenorphine

Buprenorphine’s side effects are similar to those of opioids and can include: